SmartBoard and Calendar Times
The very talented Jane Cassette has created a wonderful SmartBoard notebook file for her Kindergarten class. She wanted to create a way to make her daily calendar time more interactive and personalized.
Now why is this calendar any different that the poster bulletin board type most elementary school classrooms use?
Image by riaskiff
SmartBoard Calendar has the ability to
- engage students by customizing objects on the calendar (ex. students pictures)
- individualize to students’ need
- create your “own” calendar from scratch. More ownership of product
- allow students to manipulate and create “what if” scenarios
- Birthday children get to write their own names and pick their own “Birthday clipart”
- Individual students write numbers of each calendar day
- Choose special clipart for holidays, field trips
- Students use “infinite cloned” weather clipart to drag and drop the daily weather into the calendar.
Who is absent today?
- Personalize who is missing at school today by inserting an image
- Math: Counting, addition and subtraction practice
Number of Days in School:
- “Ones” and “Tens” sticks are infinite cloned. Students add one additional stick to the Ones column. When they reach ten sticks, they exchange it for one “tens” and move it to the appropriate column.
Sight Word Practice:
- Students can practice writing sight words
- Once sight words are written, they turn into objects, that can be manipulated, resized, moved.
Sight Word Game:
Use cell shades (right click and “add cell shade)Â to cover a sight word for the students to guess.
Building & Blending Words:
- add letters that students drag and drop into the box to form new words
Sight Word Scramble:
- scramble any words and have students drag and drop these letter to unscramble the sight words
Counting and Skip Counting Practice:
- This is a pre-made Multiplication grid directly out of the Notebook software Gallery. Just search for “Hundred Square” under open up the “Interactive and Multimedia folder”
- students push a number and the square turns another color
Download the calendar notebook file (courtesy of Jane Cassette). If you like her calender idea , re-tweet and send her her a comment through twitter @janecassette
I get what you are saying – but I’ve noticed our kids go over to their classroom calendar area and use it when they are having problem with a math concept that has been reviewed using the Calendar Math and figuring out the answer.
This is great! Some of my teachers are worried about losing their calendar wall space when they get a Smartboard in their class. Now the calendar math gets incorporated into their Smartboard lessons…what a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
Do I have to have the SmartBoard software in order to download the calendar file? I would appreciate some insight as I am just getting started with SmartBoards.
Thank you,
Judi Wolf
techteach@roadrunner.com
Yes, you would need the SmartBoard Notebook 10 software in order to open the downloaded file.
The interactive calendar is a great idea! I tech 2nd and we do the calendar together he first quarter. Then I make it a classroom job.
I downloaded this folder but I can’t find a notebook file in it anywhere – just a whole bunch of xml files, png’s and svg files…….how do I open the calendar?
Hi. You have set it up wonderfully. You have given me lots of ideas. I am my ISM (In School Mentor for ICT) so these ideas will help lots of teachers in my school. I teach a grade 1/2 in Tasmania, Australia. I use the Notebook software for soooooooooooooo much!!! I just love your work.
I am not finding the notebook file in the download either. Please advise.
@Chris and @Sharon
You will need the Smartboard notebook software (version 10) installed on your computer. Once you click on the link, it should download and open in the software automatically.
That is WONDERFUL!!! I am very new to the SMARTboard. We got it installed in our classrooms two weeks before school was out…I really hope to create activities over this summer to start off next year with a BANG! Where did you find the different things to put into the file?
What a wonderful Notebook file this is! It has so much potential. Thanks for being willing to share!
This is super! I was wanting to incorporate the smart board in circle time. Thanks for sharing. I am going to pass this along to my fellow kinder teachers.
I have Smartboard Notebook software version 10 installed on my computer, but I am getting the same problem after downloading the calendar as other posters have shared:the files do not open as notebook files – they are xml,png and svg files. How does one open them as notebook files?
@Valerie,
I am at a loss what it could be that you are not able to download and view the file. It should be only one file, once you click on the link and then give you the option to download or save as. See screenshot
Jane,
I downloaded the calendar. I have a MAC. It will not open the calendar. Any suggestions? I have SB Notebook 10. Normally, I can automatically open SB files by clicking on them.
Cheryl
I solved the problem with the calendar file on a MAC computer. I downloaded the file on a Windows computer, saved it, and loaded it on the MAC. It works great!!!
Another great activity to expose children to both sight words and phonics is playing a board game called Er-u-di-tion.
This award winning game helps children learn to read, spell and understand the most common words in the English language while playing an entertaining board game.
Cards are categorized so children of all reading levels can play together!
Hello – I’ve tried to open the calendar file but it doesn’t give me the option it with the smart board software. It saves it as a zip file but all the files and images save in separately. Can I get a copy of it at a smartboard notebook? Can’t wait to get it and use with my students. Thanks, Ronna.
Love your calendar
Having trouble downloading….
Can you send me the file.
It is wonderful.
Hi, I am having the same problems as those above. Is there anyway I can get it sent to me? I think it looks fantastic and this is my first year with a smart board so i want to use it to its fullest potential! Thanks.
You could open this file using the new Smartboard Express. an online version of accessing and using Notebook files.
Thank you so much for the smart board idea(s)! You have been very helpful in my search for an interactive calendar for my students My only concern is that if I replace a smartboard calendar for the bulletin board calendar, my students will lose the visual reference. I will use the smart board for other lessons throughout the day and the calendar file will not be displayed.
Thanks again!